A public health journal is undermining scientific inquiry through “blatantly partisan” calls for submissions that attack pro-life policies and laws shielding children from transgender procedures, a medical watchdog organization told The Daily Wire.
The Boston Congress of Public Health Review, a “social justice” health journal, issued a call for submissions from researchers and students “impacted by conservative political policies.” These conservative policies include “abortion bans on health care, anti-trans laws on access to gender-affirming care,” “LGBTQ+ health,” and “anti-climate policies.”
The call for submissions from researchers, public health officials, and students for its fall 2025 issue drew criticism from Do No Harm, an organization devoted to de-politicizing medicine. Do No Harm Medical Director Kurt Miceli told The Daily Wire that the journal was undermining science by focusing on politics.
“The Boston Congress of Public Health Review’s blatantly partisan call for submissions highlights the harmful politicization of medicine,” Miceli said. “Rather than centering its efforts on advancing public health and improving medical outcomes through rigorous, evidence-based inquiry, the BCPHR Journal elevates ideological themes – such as social justice and health equity – at the expense of objective analysis.”
Previously known as the Harvard Public Health Review, the Boston Congress of Public Health Review is published by the Boston Congress of Public Health, a non-profit organization. Its mission is to “improve health equity and social justice globally through the publication of public health content grounded in the thoughtful evaluation of evidence.”
Topics that the journal is accepting submissions on include: “Barriers to conducting or publishing research on reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ health, or gun violence”; “Reflections on abortion bans on health care, anti-trans laws on access to gender-affirming care, loss of comprehensive sex education in schools or communities”; “Personal and mental health impacts of conservative policies on one’s public health education, funding, career, or research”; “Effects of anti-climate policies on vulnerable populations and environmental health”; and “Calls for action to protect science, equity, and public health infrastructure.”
The journal is also seeking submissions on themes such as “Lesbian Health,” “Indigenous Health,” and Immigration. This includes topics on “sexuality and two-spirited in public health,” “policing, disappearing, and terrorism: deportation in 2025,” and “impact of white supremacy, nativist policies, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and stigma on migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.”
The journal also suggests a “social justice checklist” on its website for those submitting articles to “ensure that some of these criteria are present before submission. Those include “racial and ethnic minorities,” “LGBTQ+ individuals,” and “individuals in sex work,” among others.
Miceli said the journal was emblematic of how activists have hijacked the medical field.
“Empirical study gets displaced by ideological narratives rooted in identity politics and progressive activism,” he told The Daily Wire. “In doing so, the BCPHR undermines the essential role of a medical journal: to foster fact-based dialogue and improve healthcare through scientific investigation.”
